Expression of E-Cadherin and uPA and its association with the prognosis for pancreatic cancer

Abstract

4200 Background: The expression of E-Cadherin(ECD) and Urokinase Plasminogen activator(uPA) has been noted as makers for tumor metastasis and prognosis in several tumors, so we investigated the relationship between the expression of ECD, uPA and the clinicopathologic characteristics. Methods: The expression of E-cadherin and uPA was evaluated immunohistologically using monoclonal antibodies in paraffin-embedded pancreatic cancer tissues from 53 patients. Results: Among 53 tumor tissues, tumor tissues from 29 (54.7%) patients showed positive E-cadherin expression. 22 (41.5%) patients showed positive expression with uPA. There were four subgroups of the E-cadherin and uPA expression: E-cadherin-positive/uPA-negative, E-cadherin-negative/uPA-negative, E-cadherin-positive/uPA-positive, and E-cadherin-negative/uPA-positive. These patterns were found in 14 (26.4%), 11 (20.8%), 9 (17%), and 19 (35.8%) of the 53 tumor tissues, respectively. According to the subgroup pattern of E-cadherin and uPA expression, the tumor tissues with E-cadherin-negative and uPA-positive expression were associated with larger tumor, distant metastasis and an increased clinical stage. Patients with E-cadherin-negative pancreatic tissue had a shorter survival (10.6 months; 95% CI 8.7–12.5 months) than the patients in whom the expression of E-cadherin was positive (median 15 months; 95% CI 12.3–17.6 months, P > 0.05). Patients with uPA-positive pancreatic tissue had a shorter survival (6.4 months; 95% CI 1.8–11 months) than did the patients having pancreatic tissue with uPA-negative expression (median 18.7 months; 95% CI 5.3–32 months, P < 0.01). There was a difference for the median survival time between the patients with uPA-negative/E-cadherin-positive pancreatic tissue (median 18.7 months; 95% CI 0.56 - 36.8 months) and the patients with uPA-positive/E-cadherin-negative pancreatic tissue (median 7.5 months; 95% CI 4.5–10.5 months, P < 0.05), and there was a statistically significant difference in survival curves between these two groups. Conclusions: The combined analysis concerning uPA and E-cadherin expression may be a useful predictor of metastasis. No significant financial relationships to disclose.